My Japanese Table. Debra Samuels
sauce, called dengaku, is used for grilled and boiled foods. I learned to make this sauce from Odagiri Sensei and it soon became a favorite. It combines the salty taste of miso with the sweetness of sugar and mirin. The sauce is cooked to meld the flavors and then is spread on top of eggplant, tofu, and scallops, which are then grilled. I pass the vegetables under the broiler for a caramelized finish. You can use a combination of red and white miso, or just white for a milder flavor.
Makes 1/2 cup (125 ml)
3 tablespoons white miso
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons mirin
1 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoons Dashi (Fish Stock) (p. 35) or water
In a small saucepan add the miso, sugar, mirin, sake, and Dashi (Fish Stock). Heat over low heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it sit. When it has cooled, store in an airtight container and let sit for 20 minutes.
Quick Tonkatsu Sauce
This thick, sweet cousin of Worcestershire Sauce is used with fried dishes, like Fried Pork Cutlets (Tonkatsu) (p. 104), and is mixed with fried noodles like Fried Noodles with Cabbage and Pork (p. 94). The popular commercial brand, Bull-Dog Vegetable and Fruit Sauce, comes in a plastic rectangular bottle with a white cap, and there’s always a bottle in my fridge. Once only available in Asian grocers, it has now crossed over to many well-stocked supermarkets. Should you not be able to find it, make this simplified version using Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and grated apple. The standard Worcestershire sauce available in American markets is more peppery than its Japanese counterpart.
Makes 2/3 cup (160 ml) Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes
1/2 cup (125 ml) Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons grated apple (skin on)
1/4 cup (65 ml) water
Combine the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, sugar, and apple in a small saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and simmer another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the water.
Debra's Shiso Pesto
I have a shiso bush that looks like it was fed steroids, but all it gets is great sun and water. With the end of September bearing down, there are still hundreds of beautiful, tasty leaves on it. You can’t freeze them, because they turn black, and there are just so many you can press on your friends. Then I remembered what the Italians do with hyperactive basil plants at the end of the season. They make pesto! Why not shiso pesto? I combine shiso, pine nuts, canola oil, and soy sauce, and a little lemon juice and blend it in my food processor. The scent of fresh cut shiso is terrific and the thought of having that taste throughout the year is almost more than I can bear. I use this pesto on soba noodles, grilled chicken, and tofu.
Makes about 1 cup (250 g)
20-30 shiso leaves (1 oz)
1/4 cup (65 ml) canola oil or olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 cup (65 g) pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 teaspoons soy sauce, preferably low sodium
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Place the shiso, oil, salt, pine nuts, soy sauce, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Pulse about 5 times until the shiso is finely ground. Store the mixture in a glass container. This will keep in the refrigerator for more than 3 months.
Kyoko's All-Purpose Dashi Soy Sauce Concentrate
One day, when my old friend, Kyoko Wada, was sitting in my kitchen, I asked her to taste a packaged dashi soy sauce that had been recommended by another Japanese friend. She dipped the tip of her pinky in the spoon I proffered and in an emphatic tone said, “You can make this!” Her recipe for this multi-purpose soy sauce concentrate includes bonito flakes, shiitake, and kelp. Use one part sauce, and mix it with three parts water as a base for noodle soups, tofu dishes, simmered vegetables, and salad dressings. And, yes, it is better than the pre-made sauce. Never one to waste a scrap, Kyoko makes a delicious condiment from the steeped leavings of the sauce, which is great when mixed into hot rice or soup.
Makes 1 3/4 cups (400 ml)
1 cup (250 ml) soy sauce, (preferrably low sodium)
1/2 cup (125 ml) mirin
1/2 cup (125 ml) sake
One 4 in (10 cm) kelp (kombu)
2 dried shiitake
1 handful of bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
1 Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sake, kelp, and shiitake in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and immediately turn off the heat.
2 Add the bonito flakes and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.
3 Place a sieve over a bowl and pour the sauce into the sieve. Let the mixture cool. Pour into a jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Kombu Shiitake Mix
1 Separate the kelp, bonito flakes, and shiitake.
2 Roughly chop the kelp into small dice-sized pieces. Place them in a saucepan.
3 Remove the stem from the mushroom and discard. Chop the mushroom into small dice-sized pieces and add to the seaweed.
4 Roughly chop the bonito flakes and add to the kelp mixture.
5 Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 cup (65 ml) water to the pan.
6 Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and then reduce the heat. Stirring occasionally, simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will keep for several weeks.
Black Sesame Seed Salt
Goma Shio
This simple combination of toasted black sesame seeds and kosher or sea salt livens up a rice ball, a bowl of rice, or a salad. Sprinkle on steamed vegetables for contrast and flavor.
Makes 1/4 cup (30 g)
1/4 cup (30 g) black sesame seeds
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1 Spread the black sesame seeds evenly in a single layer in a medium skillet over medium heat.
2 Gently heat the seeds, shaking back and forth until you hear them begin to pop and their aroma is released. This takes about 5 minutes.
3 Let the seeds cool down and then transfer them to a small bowl. Mix with the salt and store in a glass spice jar. They will last for several months at room temperature.
Seasoned Rolled Omelet Tamago Yaki
This is, literally, an egg roll. Eggs, Dashi (Fish Stock), sugar and salt are beaten and then cooked in a special rectangular pan to make a multi-layered, thick omelet log. This rolled omelet is sliced and served cold in lunch boxes, as well as used inside and on top of sushi. Build up the log one layer at time by adding small amounts of the egg mixture to the pan and rolling the growing omelet back and forth in the pan each time you add a layer of batter. It does take a bit of practice, and having the right equipment helps. You can easily find rectangular skillets in a well-stocked Asian grocery. However, I have made the log, with success, in a round skillet by trimming the edges to make a log shape. For a quick version, my friend, Junko Ogawa, demonstrated how to cook this in a regular round-shaped non-stick skillet and then cut it into wedges. She makes this for her daughters’ bento lunch box.
Makes one 2.5 x 5-inch (3.5 x 7.5 cm) thick roll
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